System, method and computer program for conducting transactions remotely with an authentication file

ABSTRACT

A transaction system and method is provided that ensures a high degree of non-repudiation. The transaction system may include a media conferencing terminal and a client computer on each end of the transaction. The system may be linked via a network such as the Internet so that transactions may be conducted between remote locations. The media conferencing terminal ensures that each party to the transaction may be satisfied as to the identity of the other parties. The method includes recording the pressure, speed and acceleration of annotations made to digital documents that are used for conducting transactions. The system is operable to store all media conferencing information, digital document information, and annotation information such that the information can be later recovered to reproduce the transaction, proving a high degree of non-repudiation.

The present application is a national stage application under 35 U.S.C.371 of PCT application No. PCT/CA2009/000513 filed Apr. 21, 2009, whichin turn claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. ProvisionalSer. No. 61/046,536, filed Apr. 21, 2008, the contents of each of whichare hereby incorporated by reference into the present disclosure.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to conducting transactionsremotely. The present invention relates more specifically to recordingtransactions and authenticating individuals for the purposes ofnon-repudiation using digital handwriting authentication, digitaldocument management, and media conferencing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Generally, parties to a transaction are required to attend at a singlephysical location in order to transact. For example, parties signing acontract are typically required to attend in a room or an office to signthe contract in the presence of one another. In another example, aperson charged with a crime may be required to attend before a judge ina court of law to determine whether the person may be discharged pendinga trial.

There has for a long time been technology that presumably would allowparties to transact from geographically remote locations. For example,telephones and live television broadcast capabilities have existed foryears. The hesitancy to utilize these means for transacting, however, isbased at least partially on the fact that an individual may not have ahigh degree of confidence that the person they are transacting withusing these methods is actually the person they purport to be.

What has not been achieved to date is an invention that allowsindividuals to transact with each other remotely while retaining a highdegree of confidence that the person they are transacting with isactually the person they purport to be. The present invention combinesknown technologies in a novel way to provide a high degree of confidencefor this purpose. The known technologies generally include digitalhandwriting analysis and digital media conferencing.

A variety of transaction systems have been invented over the years. Manyof these systems rely on digital signature capture and verification.

U.S. issued patents U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,221,781; 6,539,101; 6,307,956;6,064,751; 5,818,955; and application 20060129841 all disclose a systemand/or method of digital signature analysis.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,221,781 patent to Silverbrook et al. discloses a systemfor registering a user with a sensing device using a form, the formhaving at least one signature field and coded data at least partiallyindicative of the signature field. When moved about the form, thesensing device senses the coded data and generates biometricinformation. The sensing device is typically an electronic pen/stylusconsisting of an image sensor. The system is operable to record bothpressure and acceleration associated with pen strokes.

U.S. application 20060129841 to Lapstun et al. discloses a method andsystem for user registration using coded marks. This application isrelated to the Silverbrook patent.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,539,101 to Black discloses a method for identityverification. Black consists primarily of a stylus operable to sense afingerprint and thumbprint. Additionally, the stylus is operable torecord pressure (point pressure and grip pressure), acceleration, fingerpositions, and other metrics.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,307,956 to Black discloses a writing implement foridentity verification system. This patent is a related system patent tothe above method patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,539,101.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,064,751 to Smithies et al. discloses a document andsignature data capture system and method. Smithies claims a capturemodule operable to measure certain features of the act of signing, suchas size, shape, and relative positioning of curves, loops, lines, dots,crosses, and other features of the signature as well as the relativespeed at which the signature is being written. Smithies claims the useof acceleration and deceleration of the pen stroke, but not pressure atthe pen point.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,818,955 to Smithies et al. discloses a document andsignature verification system and method. This patent is a relatedverification patent to the above capture patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,064,751.

Current technology enables the possibility to perform business and legaltransactions without the need for geographical proximity. There are agreat number of computers connected to the Internet, each of which isoperable to communicate with each of the others. What has not beenaccomplished to date is a system and method to harness this capabilityfor the purposes of business and legal transactions in a way thatsubstantially prevents repudiation.

Repudiation refers to a party's denial of assent to a particulartransaction or agreement. Traditionally, parties evidenced assent byproviding their signatures written in ink on a piece of paper.Generally, such evidence provides a presumption of assent. However,where a party to a particular transaction or agreement does deny assentwhere it is evidenced by a signature, such a signature could be analysedby a forensic handwriting analyst. The forensic handwriting analyst mayrefer to various aspects of a signature, and a handwriting sampleprovided by the party denying assent, to determine whether the signaturewas actually written by that party. These aspects may include pressuredifferential in a pen stroke, direction of writing, dimensions of loopsin certain characters, and so on.

When transacting remotely using digital means such as web-enabledconferencing, the prior art is unable to provide the same level ofnon-repudiation that exists in traditional paper-based means. There hasnot been, until now, the ability for a forensic handwriting analyst toexamine signatures or other handwriting samples provided digitally.

On the basis of the foregoing, what is needed is a system and method forconducting transactions remotely using digital handwritingauthentication, digital document management, and media conferencing thatprovides for a substantially high degree of non-repudiation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention, a method for conducting andrecording transactions remotely is provided, the method comprising: (a)establishing a media conference between a plurality of mediaconferencing terminals; (b) linking a plurality of computers eachoperable to display a digital document synchronized by a transactionsession; (c) recording a plurality of annotations inputted on one ormore of the plurality of computers; and (d) creating an authenticationfile that authenticates the digital document by: (i) storing the digitaldocument and the plurality of annotations; and (ii) storing audio dataand video data corresponding to the media conference.

In another aspect of the present invention, a transaction system isprovided, the transaction system comprising: (a) a plurality ofcomputers each including an input means, a display means, a networkconnection and a media recording means; (b) a plurality of mediaconferencing terminals each including an input means and an outputmeans; and (c) a transaction utility linked to each of the plurality ofcomputers or loaded on the plurality of computers, the transactionutility operable to: (i) establish a media conference between theplurality of media conferencing terminals; (ii) link the plurality ofcomputers and display on the display means of each of the plurality ofcomputers a digital document synchronized by a transaction session;(iii) record a plurality of annotations inputted using the input meansof one or more of the plurality of computers; and (iv) create anauthentication file that authenticates the digital document by: (A)storing the digital document and the plurality of annotations; and (B)storing audio data and video data corresponding to the media conference.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, a file system isprovided, each file in said file system comprising a plurality ofdigital documents, a plurality of digital document identificationnumbers, a plurality of annotations files, a plurality of media streamfiles, a plurality of files each file identifying a computeridentification number corresponding to one of a plurality of clientcomputers, a plurality of interne protocol addresses corresponding toeach of the client computers, a plurality of date stamps, and aplurality of time stamps.

In a yet further aspect of the present invention, a computer program isprovided, the compute program comprising computer instructions whichwhen made available to a computer are operable to define in relation tothe computer a remote transaction utility that is operable to: (a)establish a media conference between a plurality of media conferencingterminals; (b) link a plurality of computers each operable to display adigital document synchronized by a transaction session; (c) record aplurality of annotations inputted on one or more of the plurality ofcomputers; and (d) create an authentication file that authenticates thedigital document by: (i) storing the digital document and the pluralityof annotations; and (ii) storing audio data and video data correspondingto the media conference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A detailed description of the preferred embodiments is provided hereinbelow by way of example only and with reference to the followingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates one aspect of a system of the present inventionoperable to conduct a remote transaction.

FIG. 2 illustrates one aspect of a secure electronic data file operableto index a plurality of data files relating to a remote transactioncarried out using the system and method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a service bureau provider implementation of thepresent invention applying a web server hosted by a trusted source.

In the drawings, one embodiment of the invention is illustrated by wayof example. It is to be expressly understood that the description anddrawings are only for the purpose of illustration and as an aid tounderstanding, and are not intended as a definition of the limits of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/720,249 (the “co-pendingapplication”) is included in its entirety.

The present invention discloses a system and method for conductingtransactions remotely (the “transaction system”) that provides for asubstantially high degree of non-repudiation.

More particularly, the present invention discloses a system and methodfor digital handwriting authentication, digital document management, andmedia conferencing that may be operable to record a plurality ofcharacteristics of an individual's handwriting, a plurality ofhandwriting movements, a base document or image, a media stream, andother data for the purposes of providing a secure authentication methodthat is highly preventive of repudiation.

System Overview and Example Embodiment

FIG. 1 illustrates one aspect of a transaction system of the presentinvention operable to conduct a remote transaction.

The transaction system may enable parties to input and receive audio,visual and electronic data simultaneously for the purposes ofauthentication of the parties, authentication of electronic dataexchanged by the parties, and storage of information corresponding to atransaction. The transaction system may further enable parties toreplicate a live transaction without the need for geographicalproximity.

The following is one implementation of the transaction system andassociated computer program. It will be appreciated that there are manyvariations of the following implementation which do not depart from thespirit of the present invention.

In the transaction system, each party attends at both a data terminal 11which will be referred to as a “client computer” 11; and a mediaconferencing terminal 13, such as a telephone conferencing, videoconferencing, or web conferencing terminal which will be referred to asa “media terminal” 13. Optionally, the client computer and the mediaterminal 13 may be provided on a common device such as a multimediacomputer.

Each client computer 11 may comprise a digital writing tablet 15 whichitself comprises input means such as a stylus 16, display means 17, anetwork connection 19 and a media recording means 21. The display means17 may be operable to display a digital document. The media terminal maycomprise a display means 23, a camera 25, a microphone 27, and aplurality of audio speakers 29.

The client computer 11 may be operable to function as a content manager.The content manager system 31 may associate with the media terminal 13using the media recording means 21 of the client computer 11, such thatthe content manager system 31 may be aware of the existence of the mediaterminal 13 and may monitor the media terminal's 13 connection status.Furthermore, the client computer 11 may be operable to intercept andrecord the media stream exchanged by the media terminal 13 with a remotemedia terminal, when in use.

In a typical usage of the transaction system each party may attend atits respective client computer 11 and media terminal 13. It is assumedfor the purposes of the following description that each client computer11 may already contain a set of profiles, which will be described infurther detail under the “Profiles” heading. Further specific componentsof the transaction system mentioned in the following description arealso described below under the corresponding headings.

The parties may establish a media conference using means provided by themedia terminal infrastructure 33. Such means may be, for example,dialling from one media terminal 13 a number associated with a remotemedia terminal; or selecting from one media terminal 13 a remote mediaterminal from a pre-existing list of remote media terminals.

The client computers' 11 content managers 31 may become aware that amedia conference is established, and each client computer 11 thus beginsintercepting and recording the media stream exchanged by the mediaterminals 13. The transaction system may record a date stamp and a timestamp corresponding to the moment the media conference is established.

The client computers 11 may also be operable to determine whether thereis a corresponding client computer on the other side of the mediaconference. In this example, each side of the media conference isequipped with a client computer 11. Each client computer 11 is thusaware of the existence of the other client computer 11 through a networksuch as the Internet 35. Furthermore, the client computers 11 mayassociate with each other using a proprietary or known computernetworking protocol, such as Transmission Control Protocol/InternetProtocol (TCP/IP). The client computers 11 may thus be operable toexchange data for the duration of the transaction.

One of the parties may direct the transaction system to display adigital document on the display means 17 of each client computer 11using a digital document load command. A date stamp and time stamp maybe stored corresponding to the moment the digital document load commandis executed.

The digital document may, for example, be a contract that each partydesires to be executed by the other party, such that the two partiesenter into the contract. Each party may desire that the other party“authenticate”, such that the party executing the contract is in factthe party that purports to enter into the contract.

The parties may decide between themselves, orally using the mediaterminals 13 and media terminal infrastructure 33, which party willauthenticate first. For the purposes of authentication, one of the twoparties may provide its signature or other handwriting using the inputmeans. The transaction system may generate a profile based on theinputted annotations. The transaction system may then compare thegenerated profile to the plurality of stored profiles. The party may beauthenticated once a match is found to one of the stored profiles. Theparty may then verbally direct the second party to authenticate in asimilar fashion. At no time may any annotation be removed from thesystem.

As each party begins inputting these annotations to the digital documentthe client computers 11 record the media stream from the “active” clientcomputer. A date stamp and a time stamp may be stored corresponding tothe moment the party begins making annotations.

Furthermore, each time a different party begins to speak, the clientcomputers 11 begin to record the media stream corresponding to thespeaking party. A date stamp and time stamp may be stored correspondingto each moment the “active” stream switches between the parties.

The recorded media stream thus comprises a combination of the mediastreams recorded from each side of the transaction, with the effect thatthe recorded media stream consists of the “active” media stream at alltimes.

The parties may then choose to input various other annotations to thedocuments. The system directs the media stream to record the streamcorresponding to the party inputting annotations. A date stamp and timestamp may be stored corresponding to the moments the stream switchesbetween the parties. Generally, parties will establish betweenthemselves, orally using the media terminals 13, which of the parties isto input annotations at any given time.

Alternatively, the transaction system may provide a control command that“locks” the ability to input annotations to one of the two clientcomputers 11. In this embodiment, one party may direct the other partyto input annotations by selecting the control command, which transferscontrol of the digital document to the other party.

The transaction carries on according to the above description.

Optionally, before terminating the transaction the parties may choose toprint a copy of the digital document and annotations using a printcommand provided by the client computers 11. The digital document andannotations may be printed on a printing means 37 such as a laserprinter, inkjet printer, or the means provided in the co-pendingapplication. A date stamp and time stamp may be stored corresponding tothe moment the print command is issued.

When the parties orally decide to conclude the transaction, one of theparties may choose to terminate the transaction using a terminationcommand provided on the client computers 11. At this time, a date stampand a time stamp may be stored. Alternatively, the parties may choose toterminate the transactions using the termination process provided by themedia terminals. Since the client computers 11 may be operable tomonitor the connection status of the media terminals, a date stamp and atime stamp may be stored based on the termination time of the mediaconferencing connection.

Finally, at the conclusion of the transaction, a secure electronic datafile is stored at one of the client computers and copied to the secondof the client computers, the secure electronic data file being comprisedof the components described below.

Storage

FIG. 2 illustrates one aspect of a secure electronic data file operableto index a plurality of data files relating to a remote transactioncarried out using the system and method of the present invention.

One object of the transaction system is to combine information generatedfrom the tablet, 15 stylus 16, camera 25, microphone 27, and speakers 29into a secure electronic data file 39. The secure electronic data file39 may be, therefore, preferably comprised of the following information:a plurality of digital documents 41, a plurality of digital documentidentification numbers 43, a plurality of annotations files 45, a mediastream file 47, a file identifying an originating computeridentification number corresponding to one of the client computers 49, afile identifying a receiving computer identification numbercorresponding to a second of the client computers 51, interne protocoladdresses corresponding to each of the client computers 53, 55, aplurality of date stamps 57, and a plurality of time stamps 59. Theplurality of date stamps 57 and the plurality of time stamps 59correspond to events occurring during a transaction, including when aparty to the transaction inputs data using the input means such as thestylus 16, or when a party to the transaction speaks into the microphone27. There may be other events that cause a date stamp and a time stampto be generated and stored in the secure electronic data file 39.

The secure electronic data file 39 may be encrypted using a known methodof digital encryption or a proprietary method of digital encryption. Forexample, the secure electronic data file 39 may be associated with ahash code. If the secure electronic data file 39 is tampered with, thehash code will no longer correspond to the file. Therefore, it may bepossible to determine whether the secure electronic data file 39 hasbeen tampered with.

Media-Conference

As described above, the present invention may include media recordingmeans consisting of both audio and video recording means. Optionally,the present invention may include audio recording means without videorecording means. For simplicity, the following description assumes thatboth audio and video recording means are present in the transactionsystem.

The transaction system may be operable to record a media streamconsisting of audio and video corresponding to each client computer. Asecure electronic data file 39 preferably consists of a single datastream.

Since there may be a plurality of client computers connected togetherfor a particular transaction, the media stream may be operable tocombine media feeds from each client computer 11. The present inventionmay select the client computer 11 from which to collect a media stream,at any given moment, by selecting the media stream corresponding to theclient computer 11 which is collecting inputs at that moment. The inputsbeing collected may be an individual speaking into the microphone 27 oran individual inputting data using the input means such as the stylus16. In other words, the media stream stored to the secure electronicdata file 39 comprises, at any given moment, one of the plurality ofmedia streams corresponding to an active client computer.

In an alternative embodiment, the media stream stored to the secureelectronic data file 39 consists of all of the plurality of mediastreams from each client computer 11 connected in the transaction suchthe contents of the media stream do not depend on determining whichclient computer 11 is an active client computer.

Repudiation

The transaction system does not necessarily require a third party hostcomputer to store the secure electronic data file 39. In this regard,the secure electronic data file 39 may be stored on one client computer11 or a plurality of client computers 11 connected by network in anyparticular transaction. Alternatively, the parties may choose todesignate a third party host computer operable to store the secureelectronic data file 39.

The secure electronic data file 39, in turn, may later be used asevidence that a particular interaction took place between the partiesthat attended at the client computers 11 at the time the secureelectronic data file 39 was created. The stored secure electronic datafile 39 may be retrieved at any time from its place of storage, whetherit is stored on one of the client computers 11, a plurality of clientcomputers 11, or a third party host computer.

The secure electronic data file 39 may then be played back in itsentirety or partially. If played back in its entirely, an individual mayselect whether to play back one or both of the media stream and the setof inputs recorded using the input means. The individual may also chooseto play back a portion of the secure electronic data file, 39 thestarting point of which may correspond to any of the plurality of storeddate stamps and time stamps. This may be useful where the individual maydesire to prove that a certain element of the transaction occurredwithout the need to play back the recording of the entire transaction.

Annotations

A plurality of digital documents may be displayed on the display means17 of the tablet. The plurality of digital documents may be associated,such as to comprise a transaction involving several documents.Furthermore, each of the plurality of digital documents may consist of aplurality of pages. For simplicity, a single document consisting of onepage will be used to explain the operation of the transaction system. Itwill be recognized by those skilled in the art that the transactionsystem, as described herein, is easily scalable to multi-page documentsas well as multiple documents.

The digital document may be operable to receive inputs (“annotations”)via the digital writing implement. The client computers may be operableto record the annotations.

In the transaction system, the tablet 15 and stylus 16 together mayprovide a means to measure characteristics associated with theannotations including coordinates, pressure, speed, acceleration,deceleration, and so on (collectively referred to as “characteristics”).The prior art discloses methods to provide a stylus 16 and tablet 15that, together, may be operable to measure the characteristics.

The transaction system may be operable to retain a record of all of thecharacteristics of the annotations associated with a document.Furthermore, the transaction system may be operable to determine andrecord which one of a plurality of individuals created each of theannotations associated with a document.

The storage of these annotations may later be used to replicate theannotations on an output means, such as a laser printed, inkjet printer,or an output means described in the co-pending application.

Profile

It is well known that a particular individual's handwriting consists ofunique characteristics. In turn, it is possible to determine with arelatively high degree of certainty that an individual is a particularperson based solely on a handwriting analysis. The degree of certaintygenerally increases as more handwriting samples are created.

The prior art methods of authentication in digital documents usinghandwriting are limited to signature analysis. It is known to thoseskilled in the art that an individual's signature may changesubstantially each time that individual writes their signature. Althoughthe prior art methods of digital signature analysis provide acceptablelevels of certainty, the transaction system enables a substantiallygreater level of certainty than the prior art since the transactionsystem performs analysis using all annotations made to a digitaldocument by a particular individual.

The transaction system may be operable to record each annotation made ina digital document. As a particular individual inputs annotations ontothe client computer 11, the transaction system creates and stores aprofile of that particular individual based on the annotations and thecharacteristics.

Methods of creating an individual profile based on handwriting are knownto those skilled in the art. The present invention may be operable todynamically and continuously improve the accuracy of the profile as anindividual makes an increasing number of annotations using thetransaction system.

Authentication

The transaction system may be operable to store a plurality of profilescorresponding to a plurality of individuals that have used the system,as described above.

Furthermore, the transaction system may be operable to authenticate aparticular individual corresponding to one of a plurality of previouslycreated profiles. In other words, the transaction system may be operableto recognize an individual that previously used the system.

An authentication process comprises analysing the annotations and thecharacteristics being inputted by an individual using the input means,dynamically and continuously comparing the results of the analysis tothe plurality of profiles and determining whether the characteristicsmatch to one of the plurality of profiles. Until a match has been made,the annotations and the characteristics being inputted may be stored ina new profile. Once a match has been made, the transaction system mayauthenticate the individual as the person matching the profile and theannotations and the characteristics may be appended to the existingprofile in order to store more information corresponding to theindividual. If there is no match made, the new profile may be stored andadded to the plurality of profiles already in existence.

Editing

The digital document may be operable to receive annotations. Once anindividual inputs an annotation to a digital document using the inputmeans, the annotation cannot be removed; they form a part of theannotations file that comprises a portion of the secure electronic datafile. 39 An individual thus cannot remove annotations for the purpose ofincreasing the likelihood that repudiation may be successful.

Physical Reproduction

The co-pending application discloses an apparatus, system and computerprogram for controlling a tool. The invention generally relates todevices and systems used to reproduce or replicate human handwriting. Inone embodiment of the invention, it may be operable to reproduce humanhandwriting including nuances such as pressure, speed, acceleration, anddeceleration when provided with the original handwriting data.

The present invention may be operable to associate with the apparatus,system and computer program disclosed in the co-pending application.

The transaction system may be operable to extract the characteristicsand annotations corresponding to a digital document from thecorresponding secure electronic data file. 39 Consequently, thetransaction system may be operable to associate with the apparatus andsystem disclosed in the co-pending application for the purposes ofreplicating any or all of the plurality of annotations and the pluralityof characteristics corresponding to the digital document. Theannotations and characteristics may be outputted to a printable surface,such as a piece of paper. The annotations and characteristics willappear on a printable surface in a fashion similar to that of atraditional document written in ink on paper, including indentations,pressure differentials, and other characteristics that may be lateranalysed by a forensic handwriting analyst to determine which individualcreated the annotations for authentication purposes.

Furthermore, it may be desirable to reproduce the digital document, thatis the unannotated document, prior to or following the replicationprocess described above. The transaction system may be operable toextract the digital document from the secure electronic data filecorresponding to the digital document, and may further be operable tooutput the digital document to a printable surface such as a piece ofpaper using a printer, such as one generally referred to as a laserprinter or an ink-jet printer.

Implementation of the Computer Program

The transaction system may be implemented in a variety of ways. Moreparticularly, a format may be selected for the digital document, such asportable document format, an open source writing format, Microsoft™Word™ format or other format operable to receive annotations.Furthermore, the transaction system may be implemented as a plug-in to acommercial digital editing computer program such as Adobe™ Acrobat™,Microsoft™ Word™, or other editing program. In addition, the digitaldocument may be an image file or any other file that may be graphicallydisplayed on the display means of a client computer.

Service Bureau Provider Implementation

In one embodiment of the present invention, it may be possible for adedicated web server to be hosted by a trusted source in order tofacilitate the present invention. In such an embodiment the web servermay operate to facilitate the management and storage of files. The webserver may be operated by a source that would ensure its use as atrusted service provider.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the dedicated web server 81 mayfacilitate the management and storage of files 83 relating to atransaction between parties A 89 and B 87. It may provide confirmationof authentication of a transaction, in accordance with theauthentication method described above. It may further provide access totransactional data as a web service. Parties known to the server may begranted such access. For example, the parties to a transaction, such asParty A 89 and Party B 87, may access the transactional data.Additionally, one or more parties may be granted access to thetransactional data by the parties to the transaction. For example, PartyC 85 may be granted access to the transactional data. Party C must beknown to the server prior to be provided with access to transactionaldata. The access of Party C 85 may be limited, for example, such as toread-only status, in accordance with limits agreed to by the parties tothe transaction, or as set by the host of the web server. The type oftransaction data accessed and the purpose of granting access may vary,for example, transactional data that enables non-repudiation of thetransaction may be provided in this manner. This implementation of thepresent invention may apply a software as a service model.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method forconducting and recording transactions remotely, the method comprising:(a) establishing a media conference between a plurality of computers;(b) displaying a digital document on each of the plurality of computers;(c) receiving, by one or more of the plurality of computers, a pluralityof annotations made to the digital document; (d) recording the pluralityof annotations received by one or more of the plurality of computers,wherein each of the plurality of annotations comprises digitalhandwriting elements by at least one participant of the mediaconference; (e) generating a profile based on the digital handwritingelements for the at least one participant of the media conference; (f)authenticating an identity of the at least one participant by comparingthe generated profile to one or more stored profiles; and (g) creatingan authentication file that authenticates the digital document by thesteps of: (i) storing the digital document and the plurality ofannotations; and (ii) storing audio data and video data corresponding tothe media conference; wherein the generated profile comprisescharacteristics of the digital handwriting elements by the at least oneparticipant of the media conference, and when the generated profilematches one of the one or more stored profiles, appending thecharacteristics of the digital handwriting elements to the matchedstored profile.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising recording atleast one of coordinates, a pressure, a speed, an acceleration, and adeceleration of each of the plurality of annotations.
 3. The method ofclaim 2 further comprising printing the plurality of annotations using aprinter that is configured to replicate the at least one of coordinates,the pressure, the speed, the acceleration, and the deceleration of eachof the plurality of annotations.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein thecharacteristics of the digital handwriting elements comprise at leastone of coordinates, pressure, speed, acceleration, and deceleration. 5.The method of claim 1 wherein the authentication file further comprisesone of a date stamp and a time stamp associated with one or more eventsduring the media conference.
 6. A computer-implemented transactionsystem comprising: a plurality of computers each including an inputdevice, a display, a network connection and a media recording device,wherein one or more of the plurality of computers is configured to: (i)establish a media conference between the plurality of computers; (ii)display on the display of each of the plurality of computers a digitaldocument; (iii) receive, by one or more of the plurality of computers, aplurality of annotations made to the digital document through the inputdevice of one or more of the plurality of computers; (iv) record theplurality of annotations, wherein each of the plurality of annotationscomprises digital handwriting elements by at least one participant ofthe media conference; (v) generate a profile based on the digitalhandwriting elements for the at least one participant of the mediaconference; (vi) authenticate an identity of the at least oneparticipant by comparing the generated profile to one or more storedprofiles; and (vii) create an authentication file that authenticates thedigital document by: (A) storing the digital document and the pluralityof annotations; and (B) storing audio data and video data correspondingto the media conference; wherein the generated profile comprisescharacteristics of the digital handwriting elements by the at least oneparticipant of the media conference, and when the generated profilematches one of the one or more stored profiles, append thecharacteristics of the digital handwriting elements to the matchedstored profile.
 7. The transaction system of claim 6 wherein the inputdevice of one of the plurality of computer is one of: a stylus, a cameraand a video recorder.
 8. The transaction system of claim 6 wherein theinput device is configured to record least one of coordinates, apressure, a speed, an acceleration, and a deceleration of the each ofthe plurality of annotations.
 9. The transaction system of claim 6wherein the display is one of: a monitor and a video projector.
 10. Thetransaction system of claim 6 wherein each of the plurality of computerfurther comprises an output device, the output device comprising one of:a plurality of audio speakers, a video monitor, and a video projector.11. The transaction system of claim 6, wherein the characteristics ofthe digital handwriting elements comprise at least one of coordinates,pressure, speed, acceleration, and deceleration.
 12. The transactionsystem of claim 6 wherein the authentication file further comprises oneof a date stamp and a time stamp associated with one or more eventsduring the media conference.
 13. A non-transitory computer-readablemedium storing a set of computer program instructions, which whenexecuted by a processor, causes a computer to: (a) establish a mediaconference between a plurality of computers; (b) display a digitaldocument on each of the plurality of computers; (c) receive, by one ormore of the plurality of computers, a plurality of annotations made tothe digital document; (d) record the plurality of annotations receivedby one or more of the plurality of computers, wherein each of theplurality of annotations comprises digital handwriting elements by atleast one participant of the media conference; (e) generate a profilebased on the digital handwriting elements for the at least oneparticipant of the media conference; (f) authenticate an identity of theat least one participant by comparing the generated profile to one ormore stored profiles; and (g) create an authentication file thatauthenticates the digital document by: (i) storing the digital documentand the plurality of annotations; and (ii) storing audio data and videodata corresponding to the media conference; wherein the generatedprofile comprises characteristics of the digital handwriting elements bythe at least one participant of the media conference, and when thegenerated profile matches one of the one or more stored profiles, appendthe characteristics of the digital handwriting elements to the matchedstored profile.
 14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim13 wherein the set of computer program instructions is configured tocause the computer to record and store information corresponding to bywhich of the plurality of computers each of the plurality of annotationsis received.
 15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim13, wherein the characteristics of the digital handwriting elementscomprise at least one of coordinates, pressure, speed, acceleration, anddeceleration.